Foux da fa fa

Over the weekend, I ventured down to the Southside neighborhood of Hyde Park. Lately, this area has gotten a lot of recognition as Prez Obama's home, but it is also home to my older brother :) The bike ride (from 1200 N to 5700 S) was a lot more demanding than I had anticipated on my old Schwinn cruiser, but the sunset views of the Skyline on my upon my return made it all worth it. Actually, the true motive for my visit was to check out this small French bakery that my brother recommended to me.

Unlike some French-style bakeries around Chicago, Bon Jour Bakery & Cafe is actually owned by French ex-pats. The woman behind the counter who was obviously the owner, spoke French with her hankerchief-headed employees and offered several pastries that aren't frequently seen around here. To begin, we ordered a palmier that was seriously sweet and perfectly crisp. My brother ordered a delicious little roasted pepper and goat cheese panini. Then, we took three different macarons to go. I would have definitely ordered more but these little bites of heaven weren't cheap at $1.65 a pop. We got lemon, cinnamon, and lemon-basil. They were all fantastic, but the lemon-basil, which was recommended to me by one of the adorable employees, was incredible. The flavor began with a sweet herbal basil taste then finished with the clean and tangy taste of lemon. Beautiful!

Afterwards, we wandered over to Jackson Park to visit the Osaka Garden. This is a little getaway just South of the Museum of Science & Industry leftover from the Columbian Exhibition in 1893. It is absolutely gorgeous and so peaceful, if you live nearby it is definitely worth taking the time to find. And with this beautiful weather that has finally arrived, why not?